Santina's Scandalous Princess

‘Please lower your voice, Natalia, and conduct yourself as a     princess.’

Natalia nearly shook with disbelief—and anger. ‘And     princesses,’ she asked, ‘spend their days coaching football for the ragtag     children of—’

‘These children,’ King Eduardo reminded her coldly, ‘are the     citizens of your country. You have a duty to them.’

‘A duty to teach them football?’ Natalia was quite sure her     father and mother’s duty did not extend much beyond the palazzo walls, unless it     was making a speech or giving a little royal wave.

King Eduardo sighed and dropped the paper, turning to Natalia     as if she were really rather wearying. It had already irritated her that he’d     called her to him in this audience chamber, an ancient and ornate room that was     meant for commoners to present their petitions to their king, not conversations     within the family. Standing in front of him, the royal throne decked out in gold     leaf between them, she felt at a distinct disadvantage. Still, she hadn’t     expected this.

‘Natalia, the truth of the matter is, I think volunteering     could be beneficial for you—’

‘Beneficial—’

‘Let me speak,’ Eduardo said sharply, and Natalia, chastened,     fell silent. She could not afford to anger her father now. ‘You have been     running around for far too long, living an inappropriate and extravagant     lifestyle. I was willing to overlook it because of your impending marriage to     Prince Michel, but since he has broken the engagement—causing some significant     humiliation to our family—I see that other measures need to be taken.’

Natalia bit her lip, hard, to keep from speaking. She knew     she’d been pushing the boundaries of her parents’ acceptance with her partying.     Of course, the tabloids exaggerated everything, but in her parents’ world     frequenting a nightclub was already skirting the perimeter of propriety. Yet     what was she supposed to do? She didn’t have a     decent education, she couldn’t work and she didn’t fancy spending her days the     way her mother did, dressing up for lunch, taking tea at a certain hour and     waving at the masses from the balcony. And at least when she went out with a     wilder crowd, she knew that was what the press would     focus on. Nothing else.

‘In any case,’ her father continued, his tone utterly     implacable, ‘it has come to my attention that a bit of positive publicity could     be very good for you, as well as this family. When I consider Sophia—’

‘Sophia?’ Natalia repeated, unable to hold her tongue any     longer. ‘What has Sophia done?’ Sophia never did anything wrong. The press loved     her, and her father had announced her engagement to Prince Rodriguez last night     at Alex and Allegra’s engagement party, to much acclaim. Unlike Natalia, Sophia     was doing everything right. Wasn’t she?

‘Never mind,’ Eduardo said sharply. ‘The point is, I think your     volunteering is an excellent idea, and I told Ben Jackson so. You are to start     on Tuesday.’ He turned to face his daughter, his dark eyes steely with     determination. ‘And do not think of defying me, Natalia, or you will find     yourself without a penny, and an armed bodyguard making sure you do as you are     told.’

Natalia swallowed. She was quite aware that her father’s threat     was real, unlike her own to Ben Jackson the other night. And the thought of     being penniless and virtually imprisoned did not appeal to her at all. For a     blinding second she hated being a princess, hated its restrictions and     regulations, the oppressive expectation of royal duty, the secrets and shame she     was forced to hide.

‘Very well, Father,’ she finally managed. ‘I will do my best to     be a credit to you and the Santina family.’

Her father waved his hand in obvious dismissal, and burning     with frustration, Natalia swept out of the chamber. She stood in the opulent     front hallway of the palazzo, half a dozen liveried guards flanking the various     arched doorways. She could not volunteer for Ben     Jackson. The thought filled her with a panicky fear that she couldn’t bear to     feel. Too much was out of her control. Too many possibilities of being     humiliated, exposed—and by Ben Jackson, smirking in     triumph.